In It for Life
by LostInTheCloudsx3
Summary: Chapter Eight: Miley, Demi and Selena are setting themselves up for trouble!
1. Chapter 1

_Without the burden that's in our hearts  
None of us would have ever found you_

**_..._**

It was only eight thirty on a Sunday, but the sunny streets of Manhattan were already bustling with people. Amidst all this multitude sat a quiet building, in which a Miss Miley Stewart was fast asleep, nestled safely in her boyfriend, Nick Jonas's, - fiancé, as of a week ago – arms.

The sun shining blindingly on her face awakened her. She tried to turn away from the light only to realize she was in Nick's arms. She slowly opened her eyes and glance around the room before landing on the calendar, reminding her that it was Sunday, and Sunday meant that she needed to meet her best friends at a restaurant for breakfast. It was almost a ritual.

She carefully removed herself from Nick's hold and froze as he shifted around in bed before going back to sleep. She rubbed her eyes and got off the bed, tiptoeing towards her closet and opening it as quietly as possible before picking out a pair of black pants and one of Nick's t-shirts and heading towards the bathroom to take a shower.

Nick was still asleep when she had finished getting ready half an hour later, so she decided to just leave him a note. She grabbed a pen and a writing pad before scribbling something about heading out to breakfast and asking him to text her when he woke up.

She picked up her bag, checked that all her necessities were there and headed out.

**_..._**

Not too far away lived Demi Jonas, sister of Nick Jonas, girlfriend of Joe Gray, and a part of the best friend circle with Miley. She too, like Miley was getting ready for their routinely breakfast. But unlike Miley she didn't manage to stay as quiet and ending up tripping over a shoe lying on the floor.

Joe woke with a start, but settled back into the pillows once he'd realized it was only Demi.

"Hey, babe," he said, his voice groggy with sleep.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to wake you up."

Joe opened one eye, "It's Ok. Breakfast with the girls?"

"Yup."

"Well, alright, I'm going back to sleep," he muttered already sounding like he was already almost all the way there, "Bring me something to eat when you get back."

Demi laughed, shaking her head. "Sure, Joe, love you, bye."

"Love you too," he said but she wondered if he was just talking in his sleep.

Demi picked up her bag and headed out of the bedroom, shutting the door carefully behind her. She picked up a few pieces of clothing scattered around in the living room and put them in the washing machine before going through newspaper briefly. Once she was done, she stepped outside of her apartment and took the elevator down before hailing a cab.

**_..._**

Selena Russo, third and final member of the best friend circle, was well aware that she was late for breakfast with her friends. It would not be the first time but the harder she tried to be on time, the later she got.

She slipped on the first things she found in her closet that looked remotely good and hurried out of her loft. She had to catch the bus on time or she would be later than ever. She hurried out and thankfully, the bus was just pulling up.

She got in and found herself a seat before pulling her cell out to check if there were any texts or calls she'd missed, like she'd done only about fifty times since she'd woken up. It was just that she was expecting to hear from Peter, the investment banker she'd gone out with two nights before. He hadn't called since and Selena was beginning to think he never might.

It was just that her dating life had been a complete disaster ever since the end of college. She was slowly starting to get tired of looking for her right guy. Either they were too arrogant, or too desperate, or way out of her league. And the "okay" guys never contacted her again. She was only twenty-four but she was beginning to feel like a hundred and twenty-four.

She shook her head, trying to get her mind cleared up, she was about to spend some quality time with her best friends.

**_..._**

Demi walked into Café Liberty, to find Miley already there sipping some coffee. She waved as soon she spotted her and hurried over to slip into the chair across from her friend.

'Hey Demi!'

'Hi Miles, Selena late as usual?'

'Uh-huh.'

'I am not late,' came a voice from behind Demi, they both looked up to see Selena standing there with her arms folded over her chest.

They laughed as Selena slipped into her seat, 'Finally someone learned how to tell time.'

The waitress came over and they ordered the same thing they ordered every Sunday morning, a stack of pancakes with lots of syrup.

'Mmm,' Miley moaned her appreciation as she bit into a piece of her pancake, 'Promise me that a hundred years from now, we would still come here, if not for our friendship, at least for the pancakes.'

'Good to know you care about me and Dems so much.'

'Oh relax; you know I love you guys. Ok, how about this, we have to give up eating pancakes forever if one of us ever stopped talking to someone at this table for some reason.'

'Do you always have to be this dramatic, Miley?' Demi asked playfully.

'Yeah,' Miley nodded in fake seriousness, 'It keeps life interesting. Now are you guys in or what?'

Selena shrugged, 'Sure.'

'Sure. You seem especially smiley today anyways,' Demi commented.

'Why wouldn't she be,' Selena cut in before Miley could say anything, 'She's marrying her dream guy. Plus, she had sex last night.'

'What!' she exclaimed, also her cheeks turning a deep shade of red was a total giveaway, 'How on earth would you know that?'

'Please, I've known you forever; I_ know_ your morning-after-sex faces,' she said nonchalantly.

'You are ridiculous,' she mumbled, pushing a piece of her breakfast in her mouth.

'Oh, am I? Ok, tell me then, that you did not get frisky with Nicky boy last night.'

'Whatever,' she rolled her eyes.

'Ah-hah!' Selena exclaimed, pointing her finger at Miley.

'Ok, that's—'

'He must be really good to make you this smiley. I mean, I can't imagine him being not good, he _is _hot and—'

'Selena!'

'Yes,' Demi said, 'Selena! This is my brother we're talking about here. Please spare me.'

'Fine, whatever, spoilsports.'

'You have a big mouth, what happened with Peter, did he call?' Miley asked casually.

'Yeah, no he didn't.'

'Oh, sorry sweetie' Miley said, patting Selena's arm.

'I don't even know why I try anymore. I thought we had a perfectly nice time, but I guess he didn't think so. I might as well just give up on guys.'

'Hey, you don't mean that.' Miley said and Selena shrugged.

'Demi?' Selena said suddenly, causing her to break out of her thoughts and look back at them with a smile that screamed fake, 'You Ok? You seem a bit quiet and are awfully distracted today.'

'I'm fine,' she said, plastering on another smile.

Miley narrowed her eyes, 'You sure? Everything Ok with Joe?'

'I'm fine,' she brushed off for the second time and they let it go… for the time being.

**_..._**

**A/N: Hey guys, I'm back. I can't explain the time I've been gone, I just needed some time off to focus on my studies and etcetera, etcetera, but what's important is that I am finally back and writing again. **

**This is a new story that I'm working on. It's not exactly the kind I normally write but I'm trying something different out here and I hope you guys liked it. This chapter was just and introduction, I have a lot planned for this story. **

**Oh, and I need suggestions for who I should write as Selena's love interest. I'm not sure, but I have a feeling he'll probably end up being an OC.**

**Thanks for reading, love you guys, as always. And review. :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: Monday's here, and it's back to work for Miley, Selena and Demi. Selena has a surprise waiting at work. Everything seems to be perfect for Miley, but is it? And what about Demi, what is she hiding?**

_Thinking all you need is there__  
__Building faith on love and words__  
__Empty promises will wear_

_..._

Monday arrived and it was back to work for Miley, Selena and Demi.

Miley and Demi worked for the same magazine, in fact, that's how Demi had gotten introduced to Miley and Selena, who on the other hand, have been best friends since senior year at high school. Selena worked as a HR manager.

Miley and Demi met at starbucks and coffees in hand, walked to their office which was only two blocks away, managed to get at least half of the required work done, gossiped through lunch and went back to work until it was time for them to go home at five-thirty. So, in short, they had a typical Monday at work.

Selena, on the other hand, did not have a very pleasant day.

It had started the minute she'd walked into office at promptly eight-thirty in the morning.

"Did you hear, Johnson's retiring, we're supposed to getting a new head of the department, _today_," Jessica, her co-worker said to her.

"_Today_? How come we weren't informed about this?" Selena asked.

Jessica shrugged, going back to her work. But before long, out of what used to be Mr. Johnson's office came a man. Tall, dark and handsome would have been a perfect description for him. In other words, he was gorgeous; Selena's jaw dropped, as did several others. From Selena's calculations, he could not be older than twenty-eight.

But the minute he opened his mouth, the daydream was over.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Ryan Barry; you will address me as Mr. Barry. I am expecting nothing but the best from all of you. I do not excuse slacking, gossiping, taking unnecessary breaks and whatnot. You are here to work and keep that in mind. Alright, I look forward to working with you all. You may return to your work now."

Selena raised an eyebrow, turning to Jessica once "Mr. Barry" was once again behind the closed doors of his office, "I do not excuse slacking, gossiping, blah blah blah. What does he think that we are all in military training or something? I—"

Somebody clearing their throat made Selena look up and to her astonishment, it was Ryan Barry. Did he not just walk into his office?

"I will see you in my office, Ms.?"

"Oh," Selena said after a second, realizing he was waiting for her to give her name, "Russo, Selena Russo."

"As I was saying," he replied just as formally, "I will see you in my office, Ms. Russo."

Selena got up and followed him, shooting Jessica a look of utter bewilderment. First day of her new boss and already she was in trouble with him?

Once in his office, he sat down at his large chair and looked up at her with an expression so grim she wanted to throw herself in front of a train.

"I do not tolerate my workers behaving like that, Ms. Russo."

"I'm-I'm sorry, I—"

"Regret is for losers. Just make sure you stay on guard from now on. And do not let your personal opinions interfere with your work."

"Yes, Mr. Barry."

"Good," he leaned back in his chair, "You may now leave."

Selena walked out and heaved a huge sigh. A deep bubble of hate burned within her. Boy, did she have a lot to tell Demi and Miley.

...

Miley stood in their little kitchen slicing onions and keeping an eye on the pasta boiling at the stove when she heard the door open and then shut.

She smiled, "Nick, is that you?"

He appeared at the door a second later, loosening his tie, "Hey baby, how was work?"

Miley shrugged, "How about you?"

"It was fine," he walked closer wrapping his arms around her waist, "What're you making?"

"Pasta, Miley style."

He laughed, pulling the knife out of her hand and placing it down on the cutting board before spinning her around and kissing her hard on the lips. Miley made a move to pull away but he wouldn't let her as he playfully pulled her closer.

When oxygen became an absolute necessity Miley pushed on Nick's chest laughing, making him let go. "What do you think you're doing?" she asked, completely out of breath.

He grinned, "Well, your apron does say 'kiss the cook'."

Miley had to burst out laughing at that which ended up in her choking on her own spit as she was still trying to catch her breath. Nick handed her some water.

"Why don't you go watch some TV or something, I'll finish this up."

"No, Nick, it's Ok. You just got back from work."

"So did you. Just go, I'll take care of it," he ended up literally pushing her out of the kitchen when she didn't make a move.

"Fine, I'm going."

"I can't take another bite," Miley said later on, pushing her plate away and groaning.

Nick laughed, picking up her plate along with his to put them in the dishwasher, as Miley leaned back in the chair and blissfully rubbed her stomach. Nick laughed at the sight once he'd returned.

Miley frowned, "Carry me to the bed?"

"Sure," he smiled, coming over and picking her up and walking towards the bedroom. He added a smack on her lazy butt before laying her down on the bed. After he'd gotten ready for bed, he slipped into the covers with Miley.

She groaned, "It's only nine. Are we really going to be that lame and go to sleep this early?"

Nick laughed, "Guess not. Why don't we just stay in bed and watch TV, and then go to sleep when we feel like it?"

"Sounds like a plan."

"Mhm," Nick turned the TV on and leaned back into his pillow, "Tell me about your day."

"It was boring. Tell me about yours."

Nick chuckled, "Ok. I met with a new client today. And looked over some other cases—"

"Spare me. Suddenly, my day seems like a trip to neverland."

"Hey, you asked for it," Nick played along.

"And now I'm un-asking you."

"Ok, fine then I won't tell you about the call I got from the wedding planner about—"

Miley squealed, "Oh My Gosh! She called back?"

Nick nodded, "We have an appointment this Saturday."

Miley grinned, leaning forward and pecking his lips, "This is so exciting!"

"Yeah, it is. We also have been invited to dinner at my parents' house this Saturday."

Her smile faded for a split second before she plastered it back on. "Oh, um, what-what's the special occasion?"

"I guess it's just their way of congratulating us on the engagement."

"Right," she muttered, falling back on the bed as Nick turned his attention to the TV.

...

When Demi got home that night, it was already almost nine. She had gone for a walk after work and had ended up some fast food restaurant where she'd eaten.

"Hey, where have you been?"

Demi looked up at Joe's voice, "I texted you, didn't you get it? I had to work late." She said and he shrugged.

"Oh," he said, patting the spot next to him for her to sit down. She pulled her coat off before plopping down on the couch next to him. He placed a short kiss on her lips and slung an arm around her shoulder. She leaned into his warm embrace, placing her head on his shoulder.

A few minutes passed with neither of them speaking, and the only noise was the one coming out of the TV.

"Joe?" she whispered so quietly that if he had not been sitting right next to her, he wouldn't have heard her.

"Yeah, Dems?"

"Do you love me?"

He looked at her, caught completely off-guard, "What kind of a question is that?"

She kept her head on his shoulder, looking down at her lap where she played with the loose thread on the couch cushion.

"Just tell me, do you love me?"

"Of course I do, I love you with all my heart."

"Demi," he urged, when she stayed silent, "Demi, is everything Ok?" Only then did he realize she was sobbing. He pulled her closer, holding her close to his chest as she sobbed into his t-shirt.

Once her sobbing stopped, Joe let go of her and she sat up, wiping the tears smeared across her face.

Joe was looking at her with worry written all over his face, "Demi?"

She shook her head like a little child in denial, "No, don't worry about it. I don't know why I'm acting like this. I must be PMS-ing or something." She made a feeble attempt at lightening the mood, but Joe wasn't laughing.

"Demi," he said, taking her hand, "You know you can tell me anything, right? Anything at all."

She nodded, smiling at him, "Yeah, I know."

Joe looked at her expectantly, but sighed, turning forward again when he realized she wasn't going to say anything.

...

**A/N: There you are, the second chapter. Thanks for the reviews, love you guys. :)**

**Review? **


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three: Demi's taking a day off work, Miley's going to dinner at Nick's parents' house and Selena's troubles at work continue. **

_Want you to make me feel like I'm the only girl in the world __  
__Like I'm the only one that you'll ever love __  
__Like I'm the only one who knows your hear_

**...**

Demi called in sick next day, not feeling like going to work. She brought a random book at a secondhand bookshop, a coffee and found herself sitting on a bench on a nearby park, sipping her coffee and trying to concentrate on her book. She couldn't, though, no matter how hard she tried.

She finally gave up, shoving the book inside her bag and opted for her iPod instead, turning the volume all the way up.

She watched her surroundings as if she were watching TV on mute while blasting the radio. It was a nice way to take it all in, the freshly mown grass, little kids running around, a couple or two holding hands, an ice cream truck passing by.

**...**

Miley stood in front of the full length mirror, analyzing her ensemble.

"Miley, are you ready?" Nick called from the living room. Miley sighed, smoothing her knee-length red dress once again. Nick walked into the room to check up on her when he didn't hear a response.

Nick sighed, placing his hands on her shoulder as he looked at her reflection, "Miles, that is the third dress you've changed today. Pick one!"

"I know, I know, I'm sorry! But I need to look perfect, right, I mean, these are your parents."

Nick placed a sweet kiss on the top of her head, "They'll love you no matter what you're wearing. Even if you looked like a stripper." He frowned, "Actually, maybe not if you looked like a stripper."

"Great!" she huffed, throwing her hands in the air, "Now I have to worry about looking like a stripper!"

Nick sighed, mentally slapping himself for opening his big mouth. It would take Miley days to finally decide on a dress.

**...**

Selena paid the girl behind the counter for her coffee and picked it up, walking out of the shop. She took a sip, enjoying the bitter sweetness and pulled out her phone. Today had been another day of hell at work. It was safe to say that she absolutely hated her boss by now.

_Just barely escaped Godzilla at work. How's Nick's mom's?_

She typed and sent to Miley.

She wasn't looking where she was walking as she sent the message to Miley, causing her to collide with someone. She gasped, looking up in surprise to see that she had spilt the whole of her coffee down a man's shirt.

"Oh My God, I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed, pulling out a napkin from her purse and rubbing on the stain, only to make it not better but worse.

"Hey, hey," he finally took hold of her wrist when she wouldn't stop. She looked up to see a set of jade eyes staring down at her and she couldn't help but stare, "It's Ok."

"Um," she pulled her hand away, breaking herself out of the trance, "I-I should buy you a new shirt."

"Don't bother. I should thank you; I hate this shirt, my mom bought it for me and forced me to wear it tonight as it is her birthday."

Selena laughed, "I'm sorry anyways."

The guy nodded, "I'm Andrew."

"Selena."

"Pleasure," she laughed, briefly glancing down at his ruined shirt, "To meet you, Selena."

"You too."

"I'm really sorry about that, by the way," she said, gesturing to his shirt.

He chuckled, brushing it off, "It's no problem. Hey, I, uh… I should go. I'm running late."

"Oh, right! I'm sorry. Here-here's my card," she said, rummaging in her bag for it and finally finding it, "If you change your mind about that shirt, or-or if you want to ask me anything else, give me a call, or… not. Ok, bye!" She walked away quickly before she could make any bigger a fool of herself.

She glanced back to see him watching her leave with an amused smirk.

"Where is Demetria?"

"I have no idea, mom. Why don't I try calling her?"

"I already did, Nicholas, but she won't answer."

Nick frowned, "Maybe she'll answer mine."

Sophie nodded as Nick walked away, phone in hand. With Nick gone, she was free to focus all her attention on Miley.

"So, Miley dear, tell me, how have you been? It's been awhile."

"Oh, I'm doing well, how about you?"

"Look, Miley. I'm not a big fan of beating around the bush, so I'm going to cut to the chase."

"I-I don't under—"

"I do not like the fact that you're marrying my son. I think this is just a silly mistake, and I'm sure he's going to realize that soon, so if you expect to really marry him, you're setting yourself up for some serious disappointment, he is going to break up with you."

"Well, I think that's up to Nick, don't you?"

Sophie laughed mockingly, "No need to be so defensive dear, I'm just trying to help you from getting too heartbroken."

"Well, I—"

"She's not picking my calls either," both women turned to see Nick walking into the room, slipping his phone back into his pocket, "But I did send her a text. What were you guys talking about?" he asked, casually wrapping an arm around Miley's waist.

"I was just telling your mother how lovely it was for her to invite us to dinner tonight."

Nick smiled, "Great."

**...**

Still sitting on the same bench she had been that morning, Demi sighed as she felt her phone ring for the hundredth time. She pulled it out, watching 'Nick' glow on it in the dark night.

She pressed on end call and was about to switch it off when she received a message. Why didn't these people understand she didn't want to talk to anybody at the moment? Why can't they get the message? She gave in, opening the text message up.

_Mom's worried about you missing the dinner. You know how she gets, at least send her a text saying you're Ok._

Demi shook her head, closing the message and switching her phone off. Typical Nick worrying about what their mother would say. Right now, Demi didn't give a shit what Sophie Jonas would say, she had other problems to worry about.

She leaned back, closing her eyes, listening to the silent night and enjoying the cool breeze blowing across her face.

...

Selena was still smiling as she got off the elevator on her floor and walked towards her apartment, rummaging in her bag for the keys while balancing a bunch of files on her other hand. She slipped the key into the lock only to realize it was already open.

She started to panic, a bunch of horrible scenarios running in her head. Had someone broken in? Was it a thief? What if they were still there, what would she do, scream? She nervously twisted the doorknob and opened the door to see her whole apartment flooded with light. Thieves don't usually turn the lights on, do they?

"Hello?" she called out anxiously, expecting someone to jump out of a closet or behind the sofa with a knife or something.

"Selena!" The sudden noise made her drop her all her stuff onto the ground. She whirled around to find the last person she expected to see standing in front of her.

"Oh My God, Kelly!" She exclaimed, running into her elder sister's open arms and hugging her back just as tightly.

Kelly laughed as they pulled away, "I missed you too, Sel."

"What are you doing here?"

"What, am I not allowed to come visit my little sister?"

Selena raised her eyebrows, rummaging in her pantries for two glasses and a bottle of wine. This was definitely an occasion to celebrate. "You are, but you haven't in three years, why would you start now?"

"Fine, I'll admit it, you're not the only reason I'm here," she said, taking a sip of her wine.

"Spill, sis."

"Fine, I broke up with Jeff, or rather, he broke up with me. And I just needed to get away from that town for a while. So, I thought, what better place to get away than in New York with my little sister."

"Aw, I'm so glad you're here! Although, I'm sorry about the Jeff part, wow, you guys had been going out forever."

"Uh-huh, that's the thing about love. You may think you've found the one for you, but you can never be too sure."

Selena smiled, leaning over and wrapping her arm around her sister, "Hey, it's going to be alright. Who knows by the end of this week, you could already be dating some handsome, mysterious, New York guy."

Kelly laughed, "What about you, are _you _dating a handsome, mysterious New York guy?"

"Ha, I wish," She leaned on her hands, elbows on the counter.

"Oh yeah, but that smile is begging to differ."

Selena laughed, "I just spilled coffee on a guy."

"What?" Kelly chuckled.

Selena nodded, "I bumped into him and spilled coffee all over him, but he was so nice about it. His name's Andrew…"

Kelly smiled, leaning forward, "Tell me all about it."

**...**

Demi walked into an empty apartment that night at ten. She sighed switching on the light. She walked to the kitchen and made herself a sandwich. She was so tired and hungry although she'd done absolutely nothing today. She was emotionally exhausted.

The door clicked open and Joe walked in, looking as perfect as he had that morning in a suit, suitcase in hand, smiling as he saw her sitting there.

"Hey," he said, kissing the top of her head. Demi didn't respond, instead she kept eating her sandwich.

"You didn't make me a sandwich too?"

Demi looked up at him, her eyes narrowed, "What do you think I am, your unpaid servant?"

Joe's smile dropped, "Hey, I was just kidding. I'm actually not that hungry."

"That is just the thing with you, isn't it? Nothing is serious, not when it comes to us."

"What, Demi, you're acting all weird and… I don't know."

"You never know, Joe. You never know. When was the last time we went out on an actual date? When was the last time we had a picnic on the rooftop or went to feed the ducks at the park? I miss doing those things with you, Joe. Now all you have time for is work. I'm just a side project." She stood up, abandoning her half-eaten sandwich and walked into their bedroom, shutting the door behind her.

Joe sighed, letting his head droop. He knew he'd been a little too busy the past two few weeks, but he hadn't known Demi was feeling like that. He followed her footsteps and knocked on the door.

"Don't you have another business meeting or something to go to?"

"Demi," he answered calmly, "Please open up."

"No!"

"Come on, I'm going to have to break this door down if you don't."

A moment of silence followed and she finally opened the door.

"I'm sorry," he tried taking her hand and after a little bit of a fight, she finally let him, "Demi, look at me. You know how important you are to me. Baby, without you, I don't know what I'd do. I'm sorry if you've been feeling neglected lately and I'm sorry for making you feel like that. Tell you what, why don't we take a vacation or something; drive off somewhere this weekend, just the two of us. Like old times?"

Demi looked up, excitement already very visible in her eyes, "You mean that?"

"Of course I do," he pulled her into his arms, kissing her sweetly; she ran her fingers through his hair, laughing, already thinking of things they could do together this weekend. He kissed her forehead and said, "Now what do you say about ordering in some pizza and maybe watching a movie together?"

"I would love to," she grinned, "Except could we make that Chinese?"

**...**

Miley walked back into the dining room with Nick only to look up and see the last person she was expecting to see. She stood frozen to her spot. The smile on her face slipped.

"Miles, Mi, Miley?"

"Huh?" she broke out of her trance to see Nick waving his hands in front of her face. She shook her head slightly, "I'm sorry, I just zoned out for a moment."

He laughed, "I know, everything alright?"

Miley nodded, plastering a smile on her face, "Yeah, perfect." As if on cue, the guy talking to Nick's dad turned around and their eyes met. He seemed just as surprised to see her as she was to see him. Miley looked at Nick then back at the other guy before sighing and taking Nick's hand as they walked to the dining room together.

Dinner was excruciating, with Nick trying to get her to join in on his conversations with his mother and her trying not to stare too much at the guy who coincidently was sitting opposite to her. Miley was finishing her last piece of Apple Pie when she felt something fall on her lap, she picked up a piece of paper and looked up to see him walking away discreetly.

She opened the paper and it read:

_Meet me at the Parlour tomorrow.6:30. I'll be waiting._

**...**

**A/N: Hey, hope you liked this chapter. They are getting longer and longer. **

**Thoughts on what happens next?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four: Miley's mystery man is revealed; Selena has a date with Andrew, and Demi might just have let her secret out to Selena, unknowingly. **

_They say bad things happen for a reason__  
__But no wise words gonna stop the bleeding._

**:::::::::::::::::::**

"_Miles, wait up!"_

_Fourteen year old Miley shook her head at the request but did manage to slow down. The blonde caught up with his best friend, panting to catch his breath._

"_Hey," he said._

"_Hi," she said nonchalantly, switching her backpack from her right shoulder to the other._

"_Something bothering you?"_

"_No, Daniel, why would you ask that? Everything is just peachy. Things have never been better."_

"_Ouch. Want to talk about it?"_

"_No."_

"_Come on; tell me, maybe I can help make it better?"_

"_I don't think you could."_

"_Try me," said Dan, flashing her such a goofy grin that she couldn't help but crack a smile. _

"_Alright, fine. Today at free period, I was playing truth or dare with Betsey and the others. They asked me about my first kiss, and made fun of me when I had to confess that I haven't had mine yet. I mean, what's the use, Dan, I'm turning fifteen in two months, and I haven't even had my first kiss yet. What could me more pathetic than—"_

_Dan grabbed her face, in the middle of the sidewalk and kissed her square on the mouth. It lasted for about three seconds and when he pulled away, Miley was looking at him with wide, astonished eyes. Her cheeks were tinted with a dark shade of pink, and she looked adorable._

"_There," he said, smiling, "They've got nothing on you now."_

_Miley didn't talk to Dan for two whole weeks, after that, things went back to normal._

"Here you go." The twenty-four year old version of Daniel Williams, said, breaking her out of her thoughts. She smiled, taking her drink and setting it onto the table as Dan sat across from her with a drink of his own.

"Thanks," she muttered, sipping her drink; anything to not be the one who has to start the conversation.

They drank their drinks silently, both waiting for the other to say something.

"So," Dan broke the awkward silence finally, "How… how have you been?"

She looked at him watching her, "I've been good." She was quiet for a while, debating whether or not to blurt out the question at the tip of her tongue. She finally decided she needed to know. She sighed, looking right at him, "Dan, what were you doing at the Jonas's tonight?"

"They're my family; I'm visiting them for a while."

"You mean, you know Nick?"

"Yeah. He's my cousin." He looked up at her with wide eyes, "Are-are you and Nick together?"

Miley nodded, "Um… we're- actually engaged."

"Oh, wow. Congratulations."

"Thanks."

"Miley…"

"Dan…" They laughed as they spoke together. "You first," Miley said finally.

"I wasn't expecting to see you there tonight. I was really surprised, but I'm kind of glad that I did see you. I haven't forgotten about you, you know." His hand reached out to touch hers but she was quick to pull it away.

"Dan, don't. I have Nick now. I love him, so much. And he loves me."

"I understand that-"

"Do you, Dan?" she couldn't help but ask. She had been wondering ever since he'd left. "Why did you leave without even saying goodbye? Do you know how much that hurt?" Miley's eyes watered, but she did all that she could to keep her self-control in check. Five freaking years, it had been since he'd left. Not one phone call or letter. For all she knew, he could've been dead.

"Miley—"

"I can't do this; I don't even know why I came here today. I'm sorry." She stood up, picking her purse up and walking away before he could say a word; the loud music drowning out his calls for her to wait. By the time he'd managed to step outside, her cab had already sped away.

Daniel Williams ran his fingers through his hair, watching the traffic pass by. He had not imagined in a million years the feeling that seeing her again gave him. Miley was just as he remembered, if not more beautiful.

**:::::::::::::::::::**

When Selena came home from work that day, it was six thirty in the evening, and surprisingly her day had gone well enough compared to the other days. She changed into some comfortable clothes before making herself a sandwich and settling on the couch.

She decided to listen to her voicemail, there was only one:

"Hey, Selena? This is Andrew, you remember me?" Suddenly, she sat up straight, listening intently, "I just called to see if you were free this Friday night? Call me back and let me know, Ok? Bye."

Selena couldn't help the smile spreading on her face. She even childishly pumped her fist in the air. She picked the phone back up, and just when she was about to call him back, she placed the phone back on its cradle; she didn't want to call him back so soon and seem so desperate, she would wait till tomorrow.

She bit into her sandwich, switching the TV on just to catch the beginning credits of her favourite movie.

Suddenly, her day seemed to have gotten so much better.

**:::::::::::::::::::**

Demi Jonas was once again all alone in their apartment, with nothing to do other than think. The loneliness was what was killing her. She could have called up her friends and asked them to bring over some pizza and a movie or something, but she didn't want to interfere with any plans they had.

Besides, if they saw her, they would somehow or the other figure out something was wrong and try and get it out of her. She didn't want that, she didn't want anyone to know.

She sighed, deciding she would check her e-mail. She was scrolling through her inbox when one particular e-mail caught her eye.

She took a deep breath, clicking on open. It was a reply from her family doctor for a question she had sent around a week ago.

She was reading it when her phone rang. It was Miley.

"Hello?"

"Hey!"

"What's up?"

"I'm bored; I thought you could help me pass time. Besides we haven't talked since Sunday morning. And you didn't show up at your parents' house for dinner. So maybe I should be the one asking you what's up."

Demi laughed, "I'm sorry I haven't given you a play-by-play on my life in a couple of days, Miles, and I had a headache the other night. No big deal."

"Ok, so what're you doing now? Want to meet up, we could invite Selena as well, she was telling me about this guy she met the other day, apparently, she has a date with him this Friday or something."

"I-I can't," Demi said, eyeing the mail open on the computer in front of her, "I'm kind of busy. Besides, I have to get back to it, why don't I call you later? Bye!"

She had hung up before Miley could reply.

**:::::::::::::::::::**

"Selena, you have a call; someone named Andrew."

Selena twirled around in her chair, looking up at her co-worker, trying to hold her excitement in, he had called again! She stood up casually and walked over to the phone, and counting to three before picking it up.

"Hello?"

"Selena? Hi!"

"Hi," she smiled.

"Hi, it's Andrew. You remember me?"

"Um, yeah, sure, I do."

"Oh, because I left you a message and you didn't call back so I thought maybe you'd forgotten."

"Oh, right, I was going to call you, but I guess I forgot." Selena had to clamp her hand over her mouth to keep from giggling like a schoolgirl. Yeah right, like she had forgotten. More like she hadn't stopped thinking about it ever since. But she didn't want to seem like she was trying too hard because she actually really liked this guy.

"I see, anyways, I just called to ask you, are you free this Friday."

"Um, yeah, yeah, I guess so."

"Great, cause I would love to take you out to dinner."

"I guess that would be fun."

"Ok, then. I'll pick you up at seven."

"Sure, I'll see you then. Bye."

"Bye." She put the phone back down and did a victory dance.

**:::::::::::::::::::**

Miley was at work when an unexpected package arrived for her. She was working on article for the upcoming issue when Karen, the receptionist stepped inside her cubicle, holding a basket full of flowers. Sunflowers, her favourite.

"Miley, you have a delivery."

"Flowers? For me? Well, who sent it?"

Karen shrugged, handing her the basket, "Why don't you find out?"

Miley smiled, locating the card. _I'm sorry._

She stared at the card, confused.

**:::::::::::::::::::**

Selena and Kelly were at the mall, looking for a dress for Selena to wear on her date with Andrew. Kelly could tell it was a big deal for her sister, and Selena felt like this guy might be the answer to her prayers, and she wanted to make sure that she looked perfect for their first date.

"What about this one?" Kelly held up blue knee length dress with a ruffled skirt.

Selena frowned, "Too high school prom dress."

Kelly sighed, "Come on, Sel, you've found something or the other wrong with every dress I've shown you."

"Well, they just don't seem right."

"Fine, can we at least take a break? I'm starving!"

Selena laughed, "Fine, let's take a break."

They walked out of the store, but not before the saleslady could shoot them a nasty look for trying on so many dresses but not buying even one. Selena and Kelly exchanged amused looks and burst out laughing. They were still giggling about it and walking towards the food court when Selena stopped dead on her tracks.

"What's the matter?"

"I think I just found my dress!" Selena said, excitedly gesturing to the dress on a mannequin at the window. It was black with gold sequins sowed on the top in an angle, but other than that, it was pretty much plain. And it was also perfect for Selena.

Kelly smiled, "Then what are we waiting for, go try it on!"

She did, and Selena ended up buying the dress and also some sparkly earrings to go with it, and afterwards they made their way to the food court.

"Hey, why don't you go ahead and get something for me too, I'm going to the restroom?" Selena said, handing Kelly the bags.

"Sure," Kelly said, nodding.

Selena walked into one of the stalls after which she heard the door open and someone walk in. She didn't think much of it until she heard their voice. It was Demi! Selena guess she was talking on the phone. She was about to walk out and greet her when Demi spoke into the phone.

"No one can know," Selena froze, her hand on the handle when she heard Demi speak those words, "I-I can't handle that."

Demi was quiet for a while during which Selena guessed she was listening to the other person talk, "Saturday at eleven? Ok, I-I'll be there."

Selena heard Demi shuffle in her bag then repeat an address which she imagined Demi jotting down. Selena quickly memorized it and wrote it down on a piece of paper herself once Demi had left the restroom. She rushed out, confused and curious of what Demi was hiding.

She sighed and washed her hands and then walked out. She rushed over to Kelly.

"Hey, let's go," she said, she had to get out of there before Demi saw her.

"What? I got you a sandwich?"

"I-I can eat it on the way, I feel like taking a walk."

"Ok."

**:::::::::::::::::::**

**A/N: Hope you liked it! :) I'm having loads of fun writing this story.**

**Please review, it's my birthday!**

**Ok, so it's really **_**not **_**my birthday****. But still, pretty please?**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five: It's Friday night and as always, our favourite girls are out again, either on a first date, or anniversary celebration or a business party. But one thing is for sure, none of their nights go as planned.**

_Don't sell your heart  
Don't say we're not meant to be  
Run, baby, run, forever will be you and me  
_**...**

Selena stood in front of the mirror, smiling. Friday night was finally here and Andrew would be here any minute. She had accessorized the black dress and earrings she'd gotten with Kelly with black heels and a bracelet that had been her mother's.

The doorbell rang, breaking her out of her thoughts. Her grin widened as she picked up her purse and headed towards the door. She opened it to see Andrew standing there, looking as handsome as she remembered, one hand in his pocket, and the other holding a bunch of roses.

She smiled as he handed in to her, saying, "Hi."

"Hey, come in. I'll just go find something to put these in," she said, smelling them.

Andrew nodded and stepped inside while Selena went off into the kitchen, roses in hand. She came back a minute later and Andrew was looking around her apartment.

"You look beautiful," he said. She smiled, glancing down at herself.

"Thanks," she said as he held out his hand. She took it and they stepped out as Selena shut the door behind them.

**...**

"Miles, come on, we're going to be late!"

"I'm coming, just hold on one second."

Nick sighed, sitting down on the couch, "You've been saying the same thing since fifteen minutes ago."

"Patience," she said, walking out into the living room," Is a virtue."

Nick looked up and smiled. She had on a tight red dress with the highest heels in her obsessive shoe collection, and showed off her long tan legs very nicely.

"What do you think?" she asked, spinning around slightly.

"I think I do not approve of you wearing that dress, especially in public."

Miley laughed, latching onto his arm and pulling him towards the door, "Well, then you can help me take it off… later."

**...**

"You look gorgeous," Demi smiled as Joe wrapped his arms around her waist, looking at her through the mirror. Demi had been waiting for this night forever; it was their three year anniversary. They had been together three whole years, Demi couldn't believe it. It was also the first time they were going out, just the two of them in weeks.

Sure, they had to make an appearance at her mother's party for some charity or business or something, they had agreed to not stay more than an hour. The rest of the night was theirs.

She spun around, slipping her arms around his neck and leaning in for a kiss, "You don't look so bad yourself," she said once they'd pulled away.

Joe leaned in for one more kiss before letting go of her and taking her hand, "You ready to go?"

"Let's go."

**...**

"So, Selena," Andrew said, as they walked down the Brooklyn bridge, "Tell me something about yourself that I would never have guessed." They had had dinner at a really nice but still casual Italian restaurant and then surprisingly, Andrew had asked her if she wanted to take a walk across the bridge.

Selena smiled, "Well, I have food likings which you might categorize as weird."

"Really, like what?"

"Umm," she pretended to think, "Like… ketchup on ice cream, or… peanut butter and cucumber sandwiches."

"I have a weird food liking; I like to dip my French fries in milkshakes."

"Eww," Selena said, crinkling her nose teasingly, "Now that is just strange!"

Andrew scoffed playfully, then stopping to look at her. Selena stopped too, and blushed when he took her hand, and muttered a "what?" quietly when he wouldn't stop staring at her.

"I'm so glad I asked you out."

Selena could feel a smile creeping back up, "Me too. I'm glad you called."

**...**

"I thank you all once again," Sophie Jonas was saying, holding her champagne glass up, "For coming here tonight to support the company and the charity that it has chosen. I hope you enjoy the rest of your night." She got off the little stage and the crowd clapped politely before going back to their own business.

Miley sighed as she watched Nick talk to his mother, laughing as she introduced him yet another person, not once that night had she asked Miley to join them and it seemed like Nick had forgotten she existed as well.

"Hey girl," Miley turned to see Demi walking towards her.

Miley smiled for her friend's sake, "Hey, how's the anniversary going?"

"Eh," she said shrugging, "It's yet to begin; we agreed we would ditch this snooze fest in about half an hour to get the real celebration going." Demi gestured over to Joe, who similar to Nick was talking to a man who looked like an important person.

"You bitch! You're going to leave me here all alone?"

Demi laughed, "Come on, let's go get something to eat while I'm still here."

**...**

Selena and Andrew had stopped walking and they were now leaning across the bridge, taking the view in. It was breathtaking, the colours, the lights, the water. And Selena could feel goose bumps rise on her shoulder where there was some uncovered skin as the cool breeze blew across them

"Selena," Andrew said, taking her attention off the view and onto him.

"What is it?" She asked, smiling.

"I-I know I just met you, but… I feel like I'd be doing you injustice if I didn't tell you this."

"What's the matter?" she couldn't help but feel worried.

"You're probably going to hate me, and never want to see me after this—"

"You didn't rob a bank, did you? Or murder someone?"

"What," he looked baffled, "No!"

Selena laughed, "Well, then I think I can handle it."

Andrew hesitated, shoving his hands into his pockets, his eyes focusing on anything but her. "I-I'm married."

Selena stared at him in utter shock; she had not been expecting that. Suddenly, him robbing a bank or having murdered someone seemed so much better.

"What?" she whispered so softly even she couldn't hear it.

"I'm sorry, I-"

"I was wrong, I _don't _think I can handle that," she said before turning around on impulse and starting to walk away when she felt his fingers around her wrist.

"Why Should I? You lied to me and made me believe you were actually into me!"

"Selena, please hear me out! I-"

"No, Andrew, you have a _wife_!"

"Selena, please give me five minutes," his eyes were pleading and she felt herself melting looking at his beautiful green eyes.

"Fine," she said, giving in, "Five minutes."

**...**

"Hey," Miley looked up from her phone to see Nick standing in front of her, all handsome and gleaming.

"Oh, look who finally decided to acknowledge their fiancé; I had to play solitaire on my phone to keep myself occupied!"

"I'm sorry; I was just caught up in the moment. My mom's been introducing me to these amazing people."

"Oh, you were. Trust me, I know. Your mom's been doing everything she can to keep you away from me all night." She said, although the last part she most mumbled.

"What are you talking about?"

Miley sighed, "Nothing. I'm just bored and cranky."

Nick smiled, placing a kiss on her forehead, "Hey, I'm sorry I ignored you. Why don't you come with me? My mom would love to see you."

"No she wouldn't," she said, deciding it was time for Nick to know the truth, that his mother was not all smiles and rainbows, "She would hate it, actually."

"Miles, what are you talking about?"

"She doesn't like me, Nick, when are you going to realize that?"

"Miley that is ridiculous."

"Is it? So I'm just imagining her telling me that you are making the biggest mistake of your life by marrying me and that I'm just a passing phase? Is that what you're saying, Nick? You think I'm retarded?"

"Miles, you're overreacting, I'm sure that you simply misunderstood something else my mother said."

"_How _on earth does someone misunderstand something like that?"

Miley turned on her heel before Nick could answer and stormed away. She didn't want to hear another word from him; she knew it would be something defending his precious mother.

Across the room, sat an equally bored and cranky Demi. She glanced at her watch once again; it was at least an hour past the time Joe had said they could get out of this place and he was still over there talking to his business associates.

Demi sighed, pulling her phone out and sending him a message.

_Joe, when are we going?_

Even though he was only halfway across the room, Demi felt like he was a thousand miles away in his business world. And she definitely didn't feel like being sucked into that world right now, she just wanted to go and have the anniversary that she wanted.

She saw Joe check his phone and type something in before slipping it back into his pocket and going back to his conversation. Demi's phone chimed on cue and she opened the text message,

_Just give me ten more minutes, babe._

**...**

"Fine, five more minutes," Selena said and Andrew heaved in a huge breath before looking at her.

"I was twenty-two years old when I got married to my high school sweetheart, Jenny, just out of college, hadn't even made myself something I could call a career. Both our parents thought we were making a big mistake, marrying so young and they were probably right, but we ignored them and cut them out of our lives. And in the beginning it was all we had imagined it would be like, wonderful and magical."

Andrew looked at Selena who was watching him with wide eyes, clinging onto every word he said.

"But then, the years began to pass by and reality took a toll on us. I didn't have a decent job, we lived in an old apartment that could have crumbled into pieces any moment, and we didn't have any other family. All the things that hadn't mattered before did now. I wanted to be free again, do the things I didn't get to do, build a career.

"So I told Jenny I wanted a divorce, and she reacted in a way that I didn't expect in a million years. She threw a tantrum and went out, when she returned later that night, she was wasted and talking all kinds of gibberish. Ever since, she goes out every night and gets drunk, and she won't sign the divorce papers. I got her a caretaker and got my own place, got a new job and—"

"Andrew—"

"Selena, I—"

"This was a mistake, it doesn't change anything, and you're still married."

"But I don't love her. And I really like you."

"Well, then find me once you _are _a free man."

**...**

"Hey," Miley looked up when she heard someone, expecting it to be Nick. But she was surprised that it was Dan. She hadn't seen him since that other day. She had even managed to not see him all day at the party till now. And he was acting like it had never happened. In fact, he was acting like as if he hadn't completely disappeared from her life for six whole years.

Miley sat up straighter, "H-hey."

Dan pulled up a chair and placed it next to hers, sitting down on it, "Why you sitting here all alone?"

"Nick I got into a fight… sorta."

Miley was surprised at how natural it felt, talking to Dan again and telling him about her problems.

"Oh… you want to talk about it?"

"Nah, I'm good."

"Well, then you want to tell me about all that I missed in your life? You know talking always lifts your mood."

Miley smiled, feeling herself getting excited, "Sure!"

**...**

Demi was almost falling asleep on her chair when something dropped something and the noise woke her up.

She sighed, looking around the room. She couldn't see Joe anywhere. She looked at the time and almost gasped, it was eleven o' clock. Joe had promised her they would leave about three hours ago.

Demi got up and smoothed her dress before picking up her purse and setting out to find Joe, having decided that she had done enough waiting for one night.

It was a hard task but she finally found him, talking to yet another one of his business associates, or so Demi was sure of. She saw him looking up at as she walked towards him. His eyes widened as he glanced down at his watch and he suddenly looked guilty.

"Excuse me, Joe, could I talk to you for one minute."

"Sure," he said to her before turning back to the man, "Excuse me."

Once they'd moved a few feet away, Demi stared at Joe, "Do you know what time it is?"

"Yes, baby, and I'm sorry. Really sorry, I didn't think it would take this long, I-"

"Joe, tonight is our anniversary, you promised you would leave all this behind this one night!"

"I know, baby, but I think I just closed this amazing business deal, it's—"

"Great, I hope you're happy." She said before turning around without another word and walking out. The cool night breeze blew across her face as soon as she stepped out and she sighed before hailing a taxi, getting in and giving the driver the address to her apartment. She pulled her phone out and sent a message to Joe,

_Going home. Knock yourself out there tonight. Stay as late as you want closing as many business deals as you want. I don't care. Oh, and by the way, happy anniversary._

**...**

**A/N: Sorry for the wait! But not getting that many reviews is kind of a de-motivator.  
Anyways, hope you liked this one. :) And sorry if it's too long, I had to put all of this into this chapter.**

**And review?**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six: Miley, Demi and Selena wake up to the memories of the night before taunting them. Will they be able to fix things before they get too out of hand?**

_I could be serious but I'm just kiddin' around __  
__I could be anything, anything but sticking around_

…

Selena woke up Saturday morning feeling downer that usual, which she was expecting. Her eyes drifted across the room where the back "perfect" dress she'd bought for her first date with Andrew and sighed.

She got up and went into the kitchen to make herself a cup of coffee and then took a shower, afterwards, at precisely nine forty-five a.m. she stood in front of the mirror, messing with her hair with nothing else left to do.

She thought about Andrew and how he'd made her feel. Then she remembered his confession and felt herself getting angry. She didn't who it was she was angrier at, Andrew for lying (or not telling the entire truth, which would be kind of the same thing anyways) or herself for falling for someone she barely knew so soon.

She then turned around and surveyed her room. For the first time in weeks, she noticed how much of a mess it was. She decided she would clean her bedroom; she didn't have anything better to do anyways.

Deciding that if she was going to clean her room, she would try to make it as fun as possible, she turned the stereo on high and began by gathering the dirty clothes lying on the floor and bringing them to the hamper for laundry later on.

She sang along to the stereo. When the opening music of the next song began to play, Selena looked up, and started giggling when a clearly tipsy Demi began singing "Tik Tok", and she was on the floor laughing when she heard herself and Miley, both equally tipsy, join in.

Then something struck her, _Demi_. The phone call she'd overheard at the mall about a week ago came back to her. Saturday at eleven, she had heard Demi say. She had wanted to ask Demi about it, but she was so sure Demi would refuse point blank and maybe she would even cancel the meeting, then Selena's chances of finding out would be completely done. So she'd kept her mouth shut.

Selena rushed over to her handbag and dug around in it before finding the paper she'd written the address on. She looked up at the clock to see that it was already going to become eleven.

She grabbed her jacket along with her phone and the piece of paper and rushed out the door, hoping she could catch Demi before she left the place.

...

Miley woke up Saturday morning feeling empty, she shifted around in bed to find out why, Nick wasn't there and she didn't smell the breakfast he wasn't making for her or hear him humming while he did it.

She closed her eyes and sank back into the bed, remembering all that had happened the night before: the fight with Nick, Dan consoling her, and then her returning home at one in the night after spending the whole time catching up with him.

It had felt good, but not as good as being with Nick. There was a dull ache in her chest when she thought about Nick, you see, Miley and Nick had been together only nine months when he had asked her to marry him, now it was ten months, but not once in those ten months had they fought about anything other than who had to do the dishes that night or who took longer in the shower. That is, until last night.

When she'd gotten home, she didn't know if Nick was there yet, and she had been too exhausted to call him, so she'd gone straight to bed.

But thinking back on it, Miley thought maybe she should have since he appeared to not have come home at all last night. Where could he be?

She got off the bed and slipped on a robe before walking out to see the guest bedroom door slightly ajar. She walked towards it curiously, peeping in and there he was, sleeping soundly, even snoring slightly. She had to laugh at the adorable sight and just like that, all her anger towards him disappeared.

…

Demi, a little distance away was just waking up herself, and she, just like Miley was wallowing in self-pity as the previous nights failures came back to her. She noticed that Joe wasn't sleeping next to her.

She sat up in bed, slipping on her fuzzy slippers before standing up and walking over to the window through which she enjoyed the beautiful view. And as she looked at the city, she thought. She thought about Joe and her, their relationship and what it had turned out to be. She thought about what she was hiding from him.

She even thought about leaving him.

A few minutes later, she took a deep breath in when a very loud honk broke her out of the trance. She walked out of the room and the sight awaiting was not what she had prepared herself for.

She had imagined Joe fast asleep on the couch still in his shirt and tie, but instead she found Joe fast asleep on the couch still in his shirt and tie… only this scenario involved the whole living room area of their apartment covered in flowers. There was a note on the table with her name on it.

She could feel a smile growing on her face as she rushed forward to read the note.

_Demi,_

_I'm sorry about last night; I realize how much of a jerk I was. So I decided to make it up to you.  
This may be a little too late but… Happy Anniversary, baby. And I love you._

_-Joe._

_P.S. Please wake me up when you read this._

Demi giggled quietly, not wanting to wake him in spite of what he'd asked her to do. She'd missed when he'd used to do things like this for her, when they'd started dating. Every day, he had a new surprise for her. But not so much lately.

It made her heart melt that the Joe she fell in love with three years ago was still in there somewhere.

She decided she would do something for him as well by making him a delicious breakfast and set out on that quest as Joe still slept soundly.

As Demi assembled the ingredients to make Joe the best breakfast ever, she glanced up at the clock, remembering her "appointment" at eleven.

Should she go, or not?

**...**

Selena stood in front of a hospital, she glanced down at the paper in her hand on which she'd written down the address and then back up. She was as confused as hell, what business did Demi have at a hospital?

She shoved the paper inside her bag and walked into the hospital, walking towards the receptionist's desk where a middle-aged woman was speaking into the phone. Selena waited patiently until she had ended the phone call.

"May I help you, miss?"

"Yes, hi, I was just wondering if you could tell me if Demi Jonas has an appointment here today, and for what?"

"I'm sorry, ma'am but we do not give out confidential information."

"I understand, but this is important. Please help me out."

"I'm sorry again, but I can't."

Selena turned around with a sigh, it was clear she was not going to get anything out of this woman. She contemplated sitting there and waiting to see if Demi would walk in, but decided that it might make the woman suspicious, so she walked outside and decided to wait for Demi.

When ten minutes had passed by and Demi had not still showed up, Selena was convinced she wasn't going to. She was about to leave when a voice distracted her.

"Selena?"

She looked up to see Andrew standing in front of her with his hands shoved into his pockets, smiling sheepishly.

"A-Andrew?"

"Hi," he said as she tried not to look at his eyes, "Such a surprise seeing you here."

"Yeah, you too," she reciprocated.

"So, what _are_ you doing here?"

"Umm, I know how it might sound but I came here to spy on my best friend."

"Oh, cool."

"Well, what are _you _doing here?"

"Oh, I was just visiting a friend."

"Oh, how's your friend?"

"Good. Yeah, good…"

An awkward silence took over as they tried to think of ways to get out of the awkward silence and Selena still concentrated hard on trying not to look in his eyes.

"Um, you want to get a coffee or something?"

"Andrew, I don't—"

"Please, I promise to stop bothering you after this."

Selena stared at him long and hard, before finally giving in, "Fine, but just this one time."

**...**

"Miley?"

Miley broke out of her trance and straightened herself from the door where she'd been leaning to look at Nick rubbing his eyes.

"Hey," she smiled softly.

"Hi," he replied, patting the spot next to him on bed for her to join him. She laughed, walking over and settling on the bed with her back facing his front. His arms slipped around her waist as they snuggled into each other and smiled simultaneously without planning.

"I'm sorry," they both blurted out at once, causing them to laugh.

"Miles, I—"

"Nick, I'm sorry about everything I said last night. I realize shouldn't have."

"It's Ok, and I'm sorry I didn't come after you when you stormed out and talked to you."

"It's Ok."

"I don't want to fight ever again; it is the most horrible feeling ever."

"I know, baby."

Nick leaned up and placed a kiss on her neck, "I love you."

Miley turned her head around and connected their lips in a deep kiss, before pulling away and saying breathlessly, "I love you too."

…

Joe woke up to smell of waffles and the sound of Demi humming the tune to her favourite song. He smiled, sitting up and watching her.

He watched her until she turned around to see he'd woken up.

Demi smiled, walking over and pecking his lips, "Good morning, handsome."

"'Morning gorgeous, why didn't you wake me up?"

"I figured it must have taken you a while to set all of this up," she gestured around the room as Joe grinned, "So I decided to let you sleep a bit longer."

"Thanks."

"I should be the one thanking you."

"No, I'm sorry for being an asshole and ruining our anniversary."

"It doesn't matter, you made up for it very nicely." Her eyes twinkled with joy and Joe was glad he'd stayed up until four in the morning, decorating their apartment with flowers for her.

"I love you."

"I bet you'll love me more when you see the amazing breakfast I've prepared for you."

Joe laughed as Demi pulled ob his hand and over to the very nicely and deliciously set breakfast table.

...

Selena and Andrew had coffee and he insisted on dropping her off.

"No, I'll get a cab," she'd protested.

"Come on, it's on my way anyways."

"Fine," she'd said, giving in to him for the second time that day.

So he'd driven her and then insisted on walking her to her apartment. Selena gave in for the third time that morning and that's how she'd found herself standing in front of her apartment with him fifteen minutes later.

"So," she dragged, wondering if she should invite him in.

"I forgot to give you something last night," Andrew said suddenly.

"Andr—" she began cautiously but before she could even get his whole name out, he'd leaned closer and kissed her, ever so softly.

To say Selena was caught off guard would have been an understatement. She didn't know what to do. Surprisingly, she began responding to him. She knew it was wrong; she was kissing another woman's husband. But she felt herself melt into a puddle in Andrew's arms as they kissed and all those thoughts flew out of her mind.

They pulled away, both breathless and Selena finally looked into his eyes, deciding immediately that it had been a terrible mistake to do so. She felt her resolve weakening and leaned in for another mind-blowing kiss.

They pulled apart for the second time and said together as they stared at each other, "Wow."

…

**A/N: Bit of a writer's block this chapter. Hope you enjoyed it. **

**Reviews? :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven: It's Sunday and Demi, Selena and Miley are at breakfast again and everything's going great, as usual. But they are all hiding something they do not want the other to find. **

_What if I fall in love?__  
__What if I make you mine?__  
__I wanna know if you'll be there by my side._

…

Selena sat on a bench at central park, watching the people around her have the time of their lives. There was a teenage couple taking a walk, hand in hand, a bunch of little kids on a play date, and an old couple feeding the ducks by the pond.

She sighed, leaning her head back and staring at the sky, squinting to protect her eyes from the harsh sunlight.

"The sky looks beautiful," her head snapped forward when she heard Andrew's voice. He stood in front of her, hands in pockets. He looked at handsome as ever and Selena repeated the pep talk she'd been giving herself all this time; _Don't give in. _She nodded slowly as he settled down next to her.

"So, how have you been?" They had seen each other only the day before but Andrew felt like there was nothing else appropriate enough for him to start the conversation with. He sneaked a glance at her when he received no reply, she was staring straight ahead, a distant look in her eyes. "Selena?"

She turned towards him, "Enough with the small talk, Andrew. We both know why we're here and we should just stop beating around the bush and get to the point. I have a breakfast meeting to get to in about half an hour."

Andrew looked taken back at her tone, "O-ok, then I guess we better get to the point."

"I guess."

"Selena, I _really_ like you."

"Yeah, it doesn't matter, does it? You're married."

"You cannot deny it when I tell you that what happened yesterday was amazing."

Selena stood up, throwing her hands up in frustration, "It was a mistake!"

Andrew followed suit, standing up as well, "Yeah, well, I don't think it was."

Selena shook her head, turning away from him as her heart started to beat faster, the look in his eyes had almost convinced her to go against what she'd decided earlier.

"Selena, _please_. Give me a chance."

"I already did, and you blew it. This conversation might have gone a little bit differently if maybe you'd told me the truth from the beginning."

"That is not true! If I'd told you, you would never have agreed to go out with me."

"Well, maybe that would have been the better option!" Selena grabbed her bag off the bench and walked off as fast as she could, not turning once to see Andrew standing there, repeatedly running his hand through his hair and taking his frustration out on an empty can of Pepsi that lay on the ground by kicking it as hard as he could.

…

"Nick, stop it." Miley swatted his hand away and heard him chuckling as he completely ignored her and ran his fingers across the patch of skin on her waist where her tank top had ridden up yet again. "Nick," she whined again, shifting over and pulling the blanket up.

Nick laughed, pushing aside the hair that fell onto her face and placed a soft kiss on her forehead, then her cheek, and her neck. Before he could reach any further, he heard Miley sigh softly and looked up to see her eyes open.

"You are a pest, Jonas."

Nick laughed once again and went back to face her. He leaned down to kiss her when she clamped her mouth shut with her hand. Nick stared at her confused, "Morning breath," she explained, her hand muffling what she was saying.

Nick grinned, "Not a problem," he said, aiming for a lower target. Soon enough, his lips were at her neck, biting the skin there softly before soothing his bites with kisses. Miley let out a long sigh, knowing he was making a mark, but not wanting to ask him to stop either. Oh well, she had better cover it up with make-up.

Soon, she was squirming under him as his hands held her hips down.

"Nick!" She groaned, pushing on his chest and rolling them over so she was on top. He grinned at her; he loved it when she took control like that. She smirked back down at him as her finger not-so-discreetly ran down his chest. He watched her anxiously.

But just as her finger was about to pass the elastic of his boxers, Miley made a show of looking at the clock and sighing disappointedly. "Oh look, it's time for me to go! I have to meet Dem and Sel." She got off him as he groaned loudly, slamming his head back into the pillow. He knew her games and how much of a tease she was too well. He should have seen this coming.

She picked the towel hanging on the rack and threw it over her shoulder before looking back at Nick with a smile.

"You'll pay for that later, Miley."

"We'll see."

After Miley was done taking a shower, she got dressed and blow-dried her hair and walked into the room to see Nick still lying in bed, wide awake, throwing a balled up piece of paper at the ceiling and then catching it. She walked over laughing as she kissed his cheek and muttered, "Get up, lazybones," as she picked up her purse and phone while listening to Nick grumble and then left.

She was waiting for the elevator to come up when she felt her phone vibrate, she checked to see that she had just received a text message and opened it as she stepped into the now open elevator. She pressed the 'G' indicating the ground level before turning her focus back to her phone.

_Everything Ok with Nick? –Dan_

Miley stared at her phone in surprise; all these years and he still had her number? After he'd moved away, he'd changed his number and Miley had no other option but to delete his old one off her phone. But she hadn't changed hers all these years.

She smiled as she typed in a quick reply.

_Yup, great. Btw, u still have my no.?_

…

"Hi," Miley looked up from her phone as a dreary looking Selena slid into the seat opposite to her.

"Wow, you look awful."

Selena cleared her throat suggestively, raising an eyebrow.

"What? I tell like I see it, baby."

Selena sighed, "You remember Andrew, I told you about him the other night?"

"Uh-huh. The jerk that lied to you?"

"Yeah, you see, I… hooked up with that jerk."

"What!"

"Don't yell at me," Selena said, holding her hands up defensively. "It's not like I wanted to –Ok, fine, I did-" she added when she saw Miley's skeptical look, "But, I just met with him-"

"Selena!"

"-Let me finish, woman. I just met with him and told him I couldn't see him again."

"Good for you."

"He was just so cute, you know. And funny, and smart. I-I really liked him."

"Selena," Miley said in a warning tone that said 'you're asking for trouble here'.

"I know, I know."

"Hey, guys, what're we talking about?" Miley and Selena muttered greetings as Demi joined the table.

"Well, I was just telling Miley about Andrew and how I met…"

Miley's phone vibrated again and she checked as Selena recounted all what she'd told Miley to Demi. She saw that Dan had replied and opened it.

_That's awesome. I'm glad you two worked things out. Of course I still have your no., it was nice to know that if I ever needed you, I could just have called you._

Miley smiled, and read the message over again. Only when Selena and Demi groaned in unison did she look up and realize that Selena had finished narrating her stories to Demi. "What?" she mumbled innocently.

"Nick's already sending you dirty texts? You guys saw each other probably half an hour ago."

"Selena! Nick does _not _send me dirty texts, and-"

"Sure," Selena dragged, hiding a smirk behind her glass of water.

"-And anyways," Miley continued, glaring at Selena, "It's not Nick."

"Oh, really? Is that why you're all smiley?" Demi interjected.

"I'm serious, it's not Nick."

"We'll see about that," Selena shot back before leaning over and grabbing Miley's phone. "'Dan', who's Dan?" Selena asked, confused, as she read the message.

"No one," Miley replied sternly as she snatched her phone back.

"Miley, who's Dan? Are you cheating on my brother?" Demi asked playfully.

"Oh My God, how did you know? Please don't tell Nick!" Miley replied, playing along.

Demi grinned, taking a sip of her drink before replying, "Sure, what are best friends for if not for hiding from their brothers that you are cheating on them." They all laughed before Demi asked again, "No, but seriously, who's Dan?"

Miley shrugged nonchalantly, "Just a friend I haven't seen or spoken to since high school."

"You know, weird. I have a cousin called Dan."

"It is him, actually. I met him at dinner at your parents' house the other night."

"Really? I didn't know you and Dan went to high school together."

"Yeah, we did."

"How come I don't know about him?" Selena joined in. Selena had moved to Miley's town only during senior year, and that was precisely around the time Dan had left.

"Oh, he moved away before you and I became friends."

"Oh."

They moved on as Miley started to recount the details of something really funny that she'd read online. As they laughed their heads off, Selena snuck a sly glance at Demi, wondering if Demi was going to tell them about the weird phone call Selena had overheard.

_She'll tell us when she feels like it. She's one of my best friends, I have to trust her._

…

Demi bade goodbye to her friends before hailing a cab and giving the driver the address to the place where she wanted to go to before settling in her seat and sighing.

Being with Miley and Selena always helped her forget about her problems. It would have made her feel better if she could have told them what was going on, then maybe they could have helped her figure it out, but this situation was way too serious. If Demi had her way, no one would _ever _know about this.

Once they'd reached the destination, Demi paid the cabbie and took a deep breath before stepping out.

She walked up the little stairs and came across the door to the particular apartment she had been looking for.

She lifted her hand to knock but hesitated and paused. She forced herself knock without thinking twice because she knew if she didn't, she would be out of there in another minute and the whole purpose of this visit would have been lost.

She waited a few seconds before knocking again.

The door swung open and a completely unexpected sight greeted her. A woman dressed in nothing but a blue stripped shirt was standing front of her, the smile on her face telling Demi that she'd just shared a hilarious joke with someone. Demi recognized that shirt.

"Who is it?" she heard a voice call from behind and froze. Demi clenched her jaw, restraining herself from losing control and slapping the bitch standing in front of her.

"Demi?" The person she'd come to see stood behind the girl who'd opened the door, but right now, they were the last person she wanted to see. She shook her head, turning on her heel and storming away, all the hearing her name being called out until she left the building.

…

**A/N: K, done. Hope you guys liked it.  
Want to clear something up, though, Demi and Joe are **_**not **_**married, but yes, they've dated three years. And I'm shifting the rating to T, I only had it as M for precautionary reasons. **

**And I've a got a cold, **_**and **_**it's boiling here. Yay! :p**

**That's all, oh, wait. Reviews? :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight: Miley, Demi and Selena are setting themselves up for trouble!**

_If I could fall into the sky,  
Do you think time would pass me by?_

…

Demi was snapped out of her trance by her co-worker, Jane, snapping her fingers in front of her face. Demi glanced up, just then realizing that Jane had been telling –or at least trying to- her a story for God knows how long.

"Were you even listening?"

Demi shook her head apologetically, "I'm sorry; I've been kind of preoccupied."

"You could say that," Jane said sarcastically, "Well, I'll let you go back to your dreaming then."

Demi waved slowly as Jane walked away. Well, at least now _one _of them will be doing their job. Demi sighed, leaning back into the chair and closing her eyes. She had not been getting much sleep lately, ever since her "appointment" Sunday after breakfast, she had not been able to think about anything but that.

Joe hadn't realized anything yet. What made Demi feel worse was that ever since he'd blown off their anniversary night, he had been a complete sweetheart to her. He had started coming home early (well, earlier than before), he'd brought her chocolates twice already and he'd been totally considerate with everything he'd done.

Demi smiled subconsciously, this was what she had been wanting for the past few months and now that he was finally giving it to her, she couldn't enjoy it as much because her conscience was eating her up.

**...**

Selena was shutting the door to her car after work, three days after her little encounter with Andrew on Sunday morning when her phone rang.

She picked it up without looking at the caller ID and was greeted with an unfamiliar voice. She spoke tentatively.

"Hello?"

"Hello, who's this?"

"Um, who's this? You called me?"

"I found this number in husband's coat pocket, his name is Robert Heckler?"

"I'm sorry; I don't know anybody by that name. I'm sure it must have been an accident, a wrong number."

"Are you sure you don't know a Robert Heckler?"

Selena wracked her brain for anyone by that name, but came up with nothing. "I'm… positive."

"Um… Ok, I'm sorry for bothering you."

"That's Ok."

"Thanks, then. Bye."

"Bye."

Selena threw her phone onto the passenger seat. That had been a weird phone call. What a paranoid wife she must be to be going through her husband's things.

But she soon forgot all about it as she was being pulled over by an officer, for talking on the phone while driving, no doubt. She groaned and hit her head on the headboard, muttering "stupid, stupid". She pulled it together just as the policeman stepped closer and plastered a smile on her face before rolling the windows down.

She would have to try her luck to get out of this.

…

"You're late."

Nick sighed, rushing over to Miley to kiss her cheek as she stood by the kitchen counter, hands on her hips and eyes glaring at him accusingly.

"I know, baby, I'm sorry. My meeting ran a little longer than I'd expected. Are you mad?"

Miley sighed, dropping her hands, "No, I'm not mad."

"I really am sorry."

"I know, why don't you just go get changed and I'll heat up the pizza and get everything else ready?"

"Sounds great," he said.

Nick leaned over to kiss her once more before he headed off to their bedroom. Once he was gone, Miley microwaved the pizza (which had arrived around half an hour earlier) and got their drinks and set it on the coffee table. She put the movie in and settled on the floor, leaning against the couch when Nick came back, settling down next to her and slipping an arm around her.

Miley smiled, leaning her head on his shoulder as he started the movie.

Half an hour into the movie and Miley and Nick were stuffed with pizza and their drink glasses were empty.

"You want anything else?" Miley questioned as she paused the movie stood up with empty pizza box and glasses.

Nick shook his head, "Nah, I'm good."

Miley smiled before heading into the kitchen to drop the stuff off. She returned a few minutes later and settled in her spot. She reached for the remote to play the movie again when Nick said, "Hey, you remember Dan?"

Miley froze, "Um… vaguely."

_Why the hell did I just say that? 'Vaguely'?_

"I invited him over for dinner tomorrow night, if that's Ok with you."

"Sure, why wouldn't it be?"

_Great._

…

Demi left the office later that day, still conflicted about her feelings. She had purposely stayed a little later, procrastinating finishing her report for a while so she would have an excuse to do so. But as the clock struck eight, she knew she had to get going.

She drove slowly, keeping the window open so that she could try calming down with the help of the cool night breeze. It didn't work.

She reached the apartment building and walked to the elevator. She reached the floor and could already hear the TV in the living room on as she stepped out of it.

She plastered a smile on her face and walked in to see Joe lounging on the couch.

"Hey," she said, kissing his cheek softly.

Joe looked up and smiled, "Hi, why so late?"

"Sorry, got held back." She lied, surprised at how easily it came to her.

"Oh, you could have called."

"I'm sorry," she said, averting her eyes, "I was kind of preoccupied."

She felt a strange sense of déjà vu and realized they have had this conversation before, so many times; only it was Joe who was coming home late from work and Demi who was questioning him.

"I'm going to take a shower and change, did you have dinner?" she asked, already on her way to their bedroom.

"I was waiting to eat with you," he said.

Demi stopped, taking a deep breath. There he went again, being a complete sweetheart. She showered quickly, scrubbing extra hard trying to wash the guilt away with no avail. She walked back into the room and threw on her favourite pair of pajamas.

She peeked into the living room to see Joe in the exact same spot that she had left him.

She sighed, falling back onto the bed. Why was he being so good to her now? Why not a few months back?

She knew that all she had literally wanted was for him to finally treat her this way, the way she deserved to be treated, but now that he was, she wasn't so sure she deserved it anymore.

She reached over to her phone and checked for any missed calls or messages. None.

She lay there staring at the empty screen for the next five minutes before deciding that it was now or never. She opened up a new text message and typed in:

_We need to talk._

She contemplated adding more, but decided that she would rather say all of that in person. She pressed send and scrolled through her contact list before coming across the specific contact she was looking for and selecting it. She sent the message and turned her phone off on impulse.

She stood up and placed the phone on the bedside table. She made herself a promise that she would forget about all of her problems that involved anything out of their apartment for at least this one night and focus on being herself with Joe.

…

"Hey, Kelly." Selena said to her sister as she walked into her apartment later.

"Hi, Sel. How was work?"

Selena groaned, "I feel terrible, Kelly. I mean, I feel like I might be coming down with something, I'm still being terrorized by my new boss, and my love life's a mess!"

Kelly smiled sympathetically as her sister landed on the couch next to her. True to her word, Selena looked terrible. All Kelly wanted to do was reach over and give her a big hug, which she did while saying, "Want to talk about it?"

"No."

"Come on, it'll make you feel better."

"Not right now."

"Hey, what happened with the guy you were swooning over a couple weeks back? Did you go out with him?"

Selena sighed, "Yeah, I did; turns out he's married." Kelly's eyes were wide as Selena continued, "But despite that fact, I slept with him!"

"What?"

"In my defense, he is getting a divorce."

"So then, what's the problem?"

"The problem is that he lied to me, is married and even though trying to get a divorce, his wife, who is an alcoholic, will not give it to him. And I freaking slept with him!"

"_Why?_"

Selena shook her head, "Never mind, I already told him I couldn't see him, but to be honest, I cannot get him off my mind."

There was silence as Kelly tried to come up with something appropriate to say in a situation like this one. She was facing a complete blank.

"I have a friend who would love to go out with you," she blurted out.

"Kelly!"

"What? It will be good for you to get your mind off this guy. Plus, he's perfect for you, totally you're type."

"Kelly, we are not talking about this now."

"Come on, Sel. Give him a chance?"

Selena sighed, "Is he married?"

Kelly had to smile, "No."

Selena tried to smile back, "I guess I can give it a shot then."

"Great!"

…

Later that night, Miley tried as hard as she could to fall asleep but her attempts proved in vain. Ever since Nick had mentioned that Dan was coming over, she began to panic.

_I should tell Nick… No, I shouldn't! Yes, I should, No—Oh, God, why?_

Miley's thoughts kept jumbling up in her head and she thought she might get a severe headache if it didn't stop.

Miley thought back to her and Dan's relationship back in high school and how he'd left, what if he hadn't? Would things have been different now? Would she have even met Nick, or would she be with Dan?

_Sixteen year old Miley came bouncing into the house through the kitchen door after school one day, she was a ball of energy back then, even more so than she was now._

"_Mom, mom, mom!"_

"_Yes, honey?"_

"_You want to know what happened in school today?"_

"_I have a feeling you're going to tell me anyways."_

_Miley grinned, "In biology today, we were supposed to be dissecting frogs," she crinkled her nose, "And you remember the weird girl I told you about, Wendy? The one whose father owns the vintage clothes shop, yeah, anyways, she and her friends were having a protest, for frogs! Can you believe it, frogs! _

"_And anyways, there they are acting all adult-y and holding boards that said stuff like "Frogs are living creatures too" and stuff when suddenly one of her friends starts screaming her head off, she's screaming, "Frog, frog, frog!" And I'm like, wow, that's impressive, how dedicated she is to her cause when I realize she's screaming "Frog!" cause one had jumped down the front of her blouse! I couldn't stop laughing the whole time, I—"_

"_Sweetie," her mother interrupted and that's when Miley realized her mother was looking at her all worried, "Are you Ok?" _

"_Yeah, mom, why wouldn't I be?" Miley frowned, "Although I did miss Dan today, he missed this hilarious episode. I was going to go over and see him like right now, anyways, can I? It's strange though, he didn't tell me he wasn't coming to school today, although he was acting slightly weird last n-"_

"_Miles," her mom started slowly, "Dan's family… moved away.'_

_Miley frowned, "What are you talking about, mom? I saw him last night."_

"_They moved in the morning, when you were at school."_

"_No," she whispered, "Tell me this is a joke Dan put you up to."_

"_I-I thought he'd told you."_

"_Well, he didn't!"_

_Miley ran up the stairs and to her room. She rushed over to the window and pushed the curtain aside, staring into the window right opposite hers, Dan's. Sure enough, it was as empty as Miley had never seen._

_That's when the tears that didn't stop for two whole months came._

…

**A/N: Hi. SO, SO, SO, SO, SO, SO, SO, SO SORRY for the wait. I have been really busy and then I got sick. All better now. Anyways, this chapter is a set up for what's coming in the next chapter and the others to come -Grinning mischievously-.**

**And pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeassee review, thank you. :)**


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